U.S. patent number 8,063,299 [Application Number 10/875,498] was granted by the patent office on 2011-11-22 for solar battery module.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Takahiro Haga.
United States Patent |
8,063,299 |
Haga |
November 22, 2011 |
Solar battery module
Abstract
It is an object of the present invention to easily and
inexpensively provide a structure of effectively utilizing a light
incident on an invalid area of a solar cell. Moreover, it is
another object to improve output characteristics of the solar cell
by effectively utilizing the light. The gist of the present
invention resides in a solar battery module in which plate-like
solar cells are held between a light penetrable sheet member on a
light receiving surface side and a sheet member on a back surface
side, and internal apertures are filled with a sealing resin,
wherein a light diffusion section for diffusely reflecting a light
or a light diffusion section of a white color is arranged in an
invalid region of each solar cell.
Inventors: |
Haga; Takahiro (Izumisano,
JP) |
Assignee: |
Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
(Moriguchi-shi, JP)
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Family
ID: |
33411162 |
Appl.
No.: |
10/875,498 |
Filed: |
June 25, 2004 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20050016580 A1 |
Jan 27, 2005 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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Jun 27, 2003 [JP] |
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2003-185929 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
136/246; 136/259;
136/257; 136/256; 136/251 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L
31/048 (20130101); H01L 31/0547 (20141201); H01L
31/0512 (20130101); Y02B 10/10 (20130101); Y02E
10/52 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H01L
31/0232 (20060101); H01L 31/052 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;136/251,256,433,466,244
;438/72,609 ;427/204,205 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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57-12567 |
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Jan 1982 |
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JP |
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61-226972 |
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Oct 1986 |
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JP |
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61226972 |
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Oct 1986 |
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JP |
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01308178 |
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Dec 1989 |
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JP |
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09-260696 |
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Oct 1997 |
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JP |
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10-93117 |
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Apr 1998 |
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JP |
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11-298029 |
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Oct 1999 |
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JP |
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11298029 |
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Oct 1999 |
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JP |
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11-307791 |
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Nov 1999 |
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JP |
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11-307795 |
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Nov 1999 |
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JP |
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2003-37281 |
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Feb 2003 |
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JP |
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Other References
European Search Report dated Jul. 12, 2007, issued in corresponding
European Patent Application No. 04 25 3713. cited by other .
Tachibana, S. et al., "Concentrater Single Crystal PV Module",
Sharp Gihou (Sharp Corporation Technical Report), Sharp
Corporation, Nara, Japan, No. 70, (Apr. 1998), pp. 69-70--English
language translation of marked-up portion is enclosed. cited by
other .
Office Action dated Dec. 7, 2007 issued in corresponding Chinese
Application No. 2004-100453224. cited by other .
Japanese Office Action dated Dec. 22, 2008 issued in corresponding
Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-185929. cited by other .
Japanese Office Action dated Apr. 7, 2009, issued in corresponding
Japanese patent application No. 2003-185929. cited by other .
R. Preu, et al., "Optimisation of Cell Interconnectors for PV
Module Performance Enhancement"; 1997. cited by other.
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Primary Examiner: Hendricks; Keith D
Assistant Examiner: Dinh; Bach T
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Westerman, Hattori, Daniels &
Adrian, LLP
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A solar battery module comprising: a light penetrable sheet
member; a sheet member; plate-like solar cells held between said
light penetrable sheet member on a light receiving surface side and
said sheet member on a back surface side with internal apertures
therebetween filled with a sealing resin; wherein said plate like
solar cells have a generally rectangular shape, except that each of
its four corners is cut-off at an approximately 45.degree. angle;
and a plurality of light diffusion sections diffusely reflecting
light and arranged along each cut-off corner on an invalid region
of each solar cell, wherein the light diffusion sections are
arranged on the invalid region positioned on the light receiving
surface side of the solar cell, and the light diffusion sections
diffuse and reflect light to the light penetrable sheet member
side, wherein a connection member for electrically connecting the
adjacent solar cells is arranged on the invalid region of said
solar cells, and the light diffusion section is arranged on a light
receiving surface side of the connection member; wherein said light
diffusion sections along with said light penetrable sheet member
are designed to reflect light to a solar cell which is immediately
adjacent to said light diffusion sections; wherein said connection
member is located on and in contact with a bus electrode and
wherein said connection member runs parallel, directly above said
bus electrode.
2. The solar battery module of claim 1, wherein the light
penetrable sheet member is glass.
3. The solar battery module of claim 1, wherein the sheet member is
a fluororesin resin film.
4. The solar battery module of claim 1, wherein the sheet member is
a PET resin film.
5. The solar battery module of claim 1, wherein the solar cells are
silicon single-crystal cells.
6. The solar battery module of claim 1, wherein the solar cells are
polycrystal solar cells.
7. The solar battery module of claim 1, wherein the light diffusion
section is a white color.
8. The solar battery module of claim 1, further comprising a
collecting electrode arranged on the light receiving surface and
the back surface side.
9. The solar battery module of claim 8, wherein the collecting
electrode is comprised of a silver paste.
10. The solar battery module of claim 8, wherein the collecting
electrode includes: a plurality of bus electrode sections extending
in parallel; and a plurality of finger electrode sections extending
orthogonally to the plurality of bus electrode sections.
11. The solar battery module of claim 1, wherein said connection
member is comprised of solder with a metal foil coating, and is
adjacent to the solar cells.
12. A solar battery module comprising: a transparent sheet member;
a sheet member; plate-like solar cells located between said
transparent sheet member on a light receiving surface side and said
sheet member on a back surface side with a sealing resin fully
supplied between the transparent sheet member and the sheet member;
wherein said plate like solar cells have a generally rectangular
shape, except that each of its four corners is cut-off at an
approximately 45.degree. angle; and a plurality of light diffusion
sections arranged along each cut-off corner on an outer peripheral
invalid region of one of said solar cells, and said plurality of
light diffusion sections diffusely reflecting light, wherein the
light diffusion sections are arranged on the invalid region
positioned on the light receiving surface side of the solar cell;
and the light diffusion sections diffuse and reflect light to the
transparent sheet member side, wherein a connection member for
electrically connecting the adjacent solar cells is arranged on the
invalid region of said solar cells, and the light diffusion section
is arranged on a light receiving surface side of the connection
member; wherein said light diffusion sections along with said
transparent sheet member are designed to reflect light to a solar
cell which is immediately adjacent to said light diffusion
sections; wherein said connection member is located on and in
contact with a bus electrode and wherein said connection member
runs parallel, directly above said bus electrode.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a solar battery module.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-93117 discloses a
structure regarding a conventional solar cell. In a collecting
electrode on the solar cell, a side surface is formed as a tilting
surface to reflect an incident light toward a light receiving
surface. Accordingly, the collecting electrode is arranged in an
invalid region on the solar cell, and a light incident on this
invalid region is put to effective use.
In the conventional solar cell, inexpensive formation of a
collecting electrode which has a tilting surface has been difficult
in terms of a manufacturing process and used materials.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made to solve the foregoing problem,
and it is an object of the invention to easily and inexpensively
provide a structure of effectively utilizing a light incident on an
invalid area of a solar cell.
The present invention is directed to a solar battery module in
which plate-like solar cells are held between a light penetrable
sheet member on a light receiving surface side and a sheet member
on a back surface side, and internal apertures are filled with a
sealing resin, wherein a light diffusion section for diffusely
reflecting a light or a light diffusion section of a white color is
arranged in an invalid region of each solar cell.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present
invention;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view cut along the line A-A of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a main portion plan view showing electrically connected
solar cells of the invention; and
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the embodiment of the invention
equivalent to a section cut along the line B-B of FIG. 3.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in
detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. Among the drawings, FIG. 1
is a perspective view of a solar battery module, and FIG. 2 is a
main portion sectional view cut along the line A-A of FIG. 1. In
FIG. 1, the solar battery module 10 has a roughly rectangular plate
form, and comprises a light penetrable sheet member 12 such as
glass on a light receiving surface side, and a sheet member 13 such
as a fluororesin or PET resin film (thickness of about 40 to 50
.mu.m) on a back surface side.
A plurality of plate-like solar cells 11 rectangular in shape when
seen from a plane are arranged at intervals in an adjacent and
fixed state by a light penetrable sealing resin 14 fully supplied
between the light penetrable sheet member 12 and the sheet member
13.
Regarding a method and a structure for sealing the plurality of
solar cells 11, the sheet sealing resin 14 is arranged among the
light penetrable sheet member 12, the solar cells 11, and the sheet
member 13 before pressure vacuum heating of ethylene-vinylacetate
(EVA) or the like. In this arranged state, the sealing resin 14 is
subjected to pressure vacuum heating from front and back surfaces
of a solar battery module 10 to be softened. Then, the sealing
resin 14 fills internal apertures to complete a structure of FIG.
2.
As the solar cell 11, a silicon single-crystal or polycrystal solar
cell can be used. Incidentally, according to the embodiment, for
the solar cell 11, a structure of a double-surface power generation
type capable of generating power on front and back surfaces is
used, which comprises a transparent conductive film, a p-type
amorphous semiconductor film, an i-type amorphous semiconductor
film, an n-type crystal semiconductor substrate, an i-type
amorphous semiconductor film, an n-type amorphous semiconductor
film, and a transparent conductive film from the front surface
side.
In such a solar cell 11, a laminated structure of at least the
transparent conductive film, the p-type amorphous semiconductor
film and the i-type amorphous semiconductor film on the front
surface side is disposed inwardly as much as a certain distance
along a full outer periphery of the n-type crystal semiconductor
substrate. As just described, an area of the laminated structure on
the light receiving surface side is smaller in order to prevent an
inconvenience that the laminated structure on the front surface
side, and a laminated structure of the i-type amorphous
semiconductor film, the n-type amorphous semiconductor film and the
transparent conductive film on the back surface side get into a
side of the n-type crystal semiconductor substrate, adhere thereto,
and come in contact with each other to become a short circuit
state, during a manufacturing process. Therefore, an outer
peripheral invalid region 1 (see FIG. 3) which does not contribute
to power generation is positioned on the outer periphery on the
light receiving surface side of the solar cell 11.
Additionally, a collecting electrode 16 made of a silver paste or
the like is arranged on the light receiving surface and the back
surface side of the solar cell 11. A plan view seen from the back
surface side of the solar cell 11 is similar to the plan view
(=FIG. 3) seen from the front surface side, and hence, it is not
shown.
As shown, the collecting electrode 16 comprises two bus electrode
sections 15 (width of about 2 mm) extending in parallel with sides,
and a plurality of finger electrode sections 12 (width of about 50
.mu.m, interval of about 2 to 3 mm) extending orthogonally to the
bus electrode sections 15. The invalid region that makes no
contribution to power generation is positioned below such a
collecting electrode 16.
In FIG. 1, the adjacent solar cells 11 are electrically connected
by a connection member 20 prepared by dipping solder in metal foil,
e.g., copper foil. Specifically, one end side of the connection
member 20 is connected through a solder layer (not shown) to the
bus electrode section 15 of the collecting electrode 16 of the
solar cell 11. The other end side of the connection member is
connected through the solder layer (not shown) to the bus electrode
section of the collecting electrode on the back surface side of the
other interconnected solar cell 11.
Next, description will be made of a light diffusion section 40
which is a feature of the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the light
diffusion section 40 is installed in the outer peripheral invalid
region 1 positioned on the outer periphery of the solar cell 11,
specifically in the invalid region 1 near a cut-off corner.
Additionally, the light suffusion section 40 is installed in the
connection member 20 connected to the bus electrode section 15 of
the collecting electrode 16 located in the invalid region.
For the light diffusion section 40, a white insulating resin sheet
of polyethylene terephthalate (PEP), polyvinyl fluoride (PVF) or
the like is cut to match a size of the invalid region, and then
used. In such an insulating resin sheet, as a white color, the
light receiving surface side is made rugged to diffuse and reflect
an incident light. Incidentally, the light diffusion section 40 may
be a white sheet of no ruggedness. The light diffusion section 40
may be made of a rugged-surface material of a high reflectance,
e.g., an aluminum material or the like. If the light diffusion
section 40 made of such a metal material is arranged in the outer
peripheral invalid region 1, an insulating material is preferably
disposed between the solar cell 11 and the light diffusion section
40 in order to prevent electric conduction with the solar cell 11.
As shown in FIG. 4, a reflected light (main optical path is
indicated by an arrow in FIG. 4) is reflected on interfaces between
the light penetrable sheet member 12 on the light receiving surface
side and the sealing resin 14, and between the light penetrable
sheet member 12 and air, and is incident on the light receiving
surface of the solar cell 11, whereby output characteristics of the
solar cell 11 and the solar battery module 10 are improved.
Moreover, in the light diffusion section 40 arranged in the outer
peripheral invalid region 1, an incident light is similarly
diffused and reflected to improve output characteristics.
In place of the aforementioned light diffusion section 40, the
light receiving surface of the connection member 20 made of the
metal foil may be made rugged to be used as a light diffusion
section.
The solar battery module of the embodiment can be fixed to a roof,
a slope, an outer wall of a building or the like by disposing an
outer frame made of a metal material such as aluminum on an outer
periphery thereof. Additionally, the solar battery module can be
fixed to the slope or the outer wall of the building by using an
adhesive on the back surface side of the solar cell 11.
According to the present invention, since the light diffusion
section is arranged in the invalid region of the solar cell, the
reflected light is reflected again on the interfaces between the
light penetrable sheet member on the light receiving surface side
and the sealing resin, and between the light penetrable sheet
member on the light receiving surface side and outside air, or the
like, and is incident on the light receiving surface of the solar
cell. As a result, it is possible to improve characteristics and to
effectively use the incident light in the invalid region.
* * * * *